Recently in Blake Ebel Category

We heard from ex-Chicago creative Blake Ebel today. Needless to say, he's loving his new job as chief creative officer of Factory Design Labs in Denver, Co., where even in the dead of winter he can wear a light jacket to work and enjoy Rocky Mountain vistas from his office complex.

Last summer, you may recall, Ebel departed Euro RSCG/Chicago, where he shared the chief creative officer post with Steffan Postaer, who exited the job just days ago. Postaer is searching for his next opportunity. Ebel said he has only had a couple of brief email exchanges with Postaer, but also said he has no doubt the ex-Euro RSCG creative will land on his feet. "The guy (Postaer) has a lot of connections," said Ebel, who oversees a creative staff of more than 35 people. The total body count at Factory Design Labs is around 125.

But the big news Ebel had for us is that he has hired two Chicago creatives at Factory Design Labs. They are Chicago freelance creative Jimmy Olson and former Cramer-Krasselt/Chicago creative Rick Hamann. Ebel worked with Olson on various projects at Euro. And Ebel said he has admired the work Hamann did at C-K, where he worked on several major accounts, including Porsche, Corona and Hyatt.

Blake Ebel is out at Euro RSCG/Chicago. After a six-year stint as a top creative at the shop, Ebel is leaving to take the top creative job at Factory Design Labs, a Denver-based shop. Sources said Ebel had been interested in getting his own top creative post for a while.

Most recently at Euro RSCG, Ebel and Steffan Postaer were co-chief creative officers, an awkward arrangement that may have hastened Ebel's exit from the shop. Plus, the recent departure of the Barilla pasta account from Euro RSCG may have been a deciding factor in Ebel's exit. Ebel brought that piece of business to Euro when he came there from Young & Rubicam/Chicago. The Barilla loss is but one of several that have hit Euro RSCG in recent times, and the agency has been slow to bring in large, high-profile pieces of business to replace the losses.

Euro RSCG released a statement thanking Ebel for his "role in helping grow Euro RSCG/Chicago into the agency it is today." For now Steffan Postaer will continue in his role as sole chief creative officer at Euro. The agency said it intends to replace Ebel.